Present corn picking apparatus, which is typically mounted on the forward end of a conventional combine, has traditionally comprised what is referred to as a corn head assembly. This assembly included a plurality of corn stalk openings formed by lateral spaced snout-like guides which tend to guide the corn stalks toward the picking or corn ear separating means disposed at or near the end of the corn stalk openings.
The picking or separating means have conventionally comprised a pair of relatively long conical rotating finned snapping rolls closely spaced adjacent to one another and aligned with the axis of rotation parallel to the direction of travel of the apparatus. A longitudinal slot formed in a stripper plate mounted on the assembly frame is disposed above the snapping rolls.
To aid the desired relative movement of the corn stalk, an endless chain is mounted along one or both sides of the corn stalk receiving opening and included a plurality of inwardly directed lugs. The endless chain assembly was driven in the opposing direction to the direction of travel and functioned as an aid to direct the corn stalks aligned with each opening to the ear picking portion of the apparatus with the lugs on the chain striking or engaging the corn stalk. The endless chains are located along the corn-receiving openings between the snout-like guides at a descending angle and terminate at or even slightly forward of the openings. This construction tended to somewhat aid the ability of the corn head assembly to engage bent over stalks which otherwise might be missed entirely in the harvesting process. The chain also engages the separated ears to push them rearwardly toward the collecting auger.
This basic construction has been used for many years in the farming industry with no significant change. However, such a construction presents several disadvantages and problems which, until the present invention, have not been satisfactorily solved.
One of the problems of the prior conventional corn head construction is the tendency to lose yield by either losing ears which are picked or losing kernels from the ears during the picking thereof. Another problem associated with this prior construction is the limiting effect on the speed which the apparatus can functionally and efficiently operate in the field to pick the ears from the stalk.
The present commercial construction wherein the endless chain and the associated stripping plates are mounted at a descending angle in the direction of travel tends to cause a percentage of corn ears to fall forwardly upon separation from the stalk instead of traveling rearwardly into the collecting means. In addition, the location of the stripping plate opening through which the stalk is pulled downwardly by the snapping rolls, causes a percentage of corn ears to be partially engaged by the rotating snapping rolls. This engagement tends to remove a portion of the kernels from the ear, which kernels fall to the ground and hence are unharvested.
The limit of the speed of forward travel tends to be diminished by the endless chain construction wherein the speed of movement of the chain must not be so fast that the lugs on the chain tend to tear or break the corn stalk apart prior to its entrance into the opening or slot of the stripping plates and engagement by the snapping rolls. Obviously, if too many stalks are prematurely torn or broken in this manner, the harvesting operation becomes less and less efficient. Typically operational speed of the combine and picking apparatus is between 3 to 5 miles per hour with most users operating between 3 and 4 miles per hour for efficient operation with minimum losses.
Losses from the above discussed causes are increasingly important as the farmer has been forced to seek greater and greater efficiency to maintain a profitable operation in the face of other rising costs. The present invention is directed to a novel corn head assembly which significantly improves the efficiency of the harvesting process by reducing loss, permitting greater speed of picking process, and simplifying the overall construction of the corn head assembly.